My trip to the uke store today left me once again questioning solid ukes vs laminates

When I first got into ukes, I was told that solid wood ukes are the best, and that laminates are cheap and sound dull.
After a while, I got into laminate ukes, because I found that they sounded quite good and were more durable against humidity.

Then I got into solid wood ukes again, because I somehow got convinced that they do sound better, and are thus better instruments..


Until I walked into a music store today, and had the following experience.


1. The store:


2. The winners:


3. The expensive wall of shame:



Basically, the Anuenue U900's with the bunny/bear soundholes outperformed every other uke in the store in my view.
They are packed with tone, volume and clarity that made the rest sound dull and lifeless.

This is including some high end all-solid ukes of all sizes, some costing $700+
Solid Koa, Acacia, Spruce, Mahogany.. they were all there... but still sounding duller than these pair of soprano laminates.


These Anuenue U900's are amazing
They even outperformed more expensive ukes made by the same company.

I agree with you, kissing. Solids overrated, laminates under-appreciated (assuming proper set-up on all).

Someday, I'd like to see a blindfolded test, where someone hands a player, say, five ukes, of all different prices and builds. Would be interesting.

I also agree. I have a few solid ukes and one laminate - a laminate Islander concert. For a number of reasons the Islander is my favorite. It's the one I take out and play outside - I just don't love the fluke or even like it that much. It's the one I take out to play with other people. I don't worry about it - it's durable and not affected so much by the weather. If I ruin it or it gets stolen I'll just buy another just like it. I've played the solid Islanders and I do think they sound better - a little. A well setup laminate will play just as well as a solid wood uke. It will be more durable and less expensive. It still has to be properly set up and of good quality with good build and good design, but I'd much rather have a good laminate than a mediocre solid wood uke.

Congratulations on finding a uke you love . . . . for now

UAS is a demanding mistress!!

If you're happy, than it's a GREAT uke!!!! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

(I have all solid instruments btw)

coolkayaker1 said:

I agree with you, kissing. Solids overrated, laminates under-appreciated (assuming proper set-up on all).

Someday, I'd like to see a blindfolded test, where someone hands a player, say, five ukes, of all different prices and builds. Would be interesting.

Click to expand...

MGM did one with 12 ukuleles a couple of years back. Here's the link to the thread:

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/f...s-do-the-Walk-The-great-MGM-ukulele-challange

Some musicians can detect tones and subtleties that some of us cant. What soundsgood to you sounds good..period. Lots of great ukers out there that will never aspire to anything more than a Kala and that's ok. Those litte ukes sound great. Playing is supposed to make you happy and high end ukes won't always do that for each and every one of us. All we can say is some laminate ukes sound better than some solid ones, and leave it at that. It's your money...you get to decide. What sounds good to my ears sounds good to me and that's all there is to it. Good luck.

So... where was these photos taken? Because, even the "expensive wall of shame" looks like all factory made mass marketed ukes.

I agree, the aNueNue u900 "twins" are fun to play & probably sound better than all in that first photo AND all of the over-built, setup-impaired & intonation-dubious "expensive" ukes. BUT, my well setup Mainland soprano pineapple (solid wood) & Kamoa Grand Concert (laminate) sound GREAT - both easily beat the Kala "Mighty Uke" that was badly setup when I got it & my couple of Makala dolphins.

As others have noted, we all play for enjoyment (even the pros have to love what they are doing), so enjoy. I'd be the last to say that only a solid uke will sound the best all the time.

Mahalo!

Saying that solid wood ukes are over rated and that laminates sound as good or better is painting the uke market with a very broad brush, wouldn't you say? In the inexpensive uke market you may be correct, the laminates will sound as good as a solid. Why? The answer is because in the low end market all these ukes are built without regard to the type of wood used. They are slung together in a uke factory where every uke gets the same attention. Its a hit and and miss atmosphere where some ukes will sound OK and other lousy regardless of the wood used. Thus is not planned, it just happens. Because a uke is made of solid woods means nothing, it how the uke is made and by whom. By the looks in your photos, I don't see any hand made high end ukes on the wall, and I don't mean over priced factory made ukes with thick plastic finishes.

If you were to say that some laminates sound better then high end ukes like some of the fine luthiers that post here, they I would say you need to get your hearing checked out. And in fact, if these laminates do sound as good to you as some high end ukes, then by all means you should play a laminate and be happy with what you have.

BlackBearUkes said:

If you were to say that some laminates sound better then high end ukes like some of the fine luthiers that post here, they I would say you need to get your hearing checked out.

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Yep, that's what I'm saying. My Kiwaya eco-laminate sounds as good as some of the high end ukes on here. Notice I didn't say better, I said just as good. Yep.

Thanks for the link to the MGM old thread comparing ukuleles blindly. It proves the point.

Interesting thread. Can you post some sound samples with the inexpensive ukes compared to something solid and higher priced ?

I've said it before and I'll say it again, theoretically a properly built laminated instrument should sound better than a solid one because strength and stability of laminates go up at a higher rate than does the inflexibility of laminates (i.e. you can build the same amount of strength using a thinner laminate that actually vibrates more freely than the required thickness of solid wood).

However, in practice that's pretty rare (the Kiwaya eco-ukes are one of the few possible exceptions - my Kiwaya longneck doesn't match my KoAloha longneck, or even my Mainland standard sopranos, but it beats every laminated uke I've ever heard). In practice the use of laminates is usually a cost saving measure that is usually accompanied by other "cut corners." The laminates used are not the high-tech materials that offer very adventageous strength to flexibility factors - they are usually inexpensive materials with a 1/64" (or thinner) "bling" finish meant to impress the eye while saving money.

Finally, while I've heard some pretty decent laminated ukes (especially the Kiwaya noted) even the good ones are at one disadvantage against solid ukes - they are never going to get better with age and use. Now, the "playing in" phenomenon is often disputed but I've experienced it on a couple of instruments (guitars and ukes, both) so drastically and quickly that it just couldn't be denied. (I don't, however, think it always happens with a solid wood instrument and I'll concede that in some cases the "playing in" might actually go downhill, though I've never seen it.) But, laminated materials are so stable in multiple dimensions that they are unlikely to change much over the life of the instrument. Of course, if you're looking at harsh treatment and environment, that can be a good thing...

John

often, especially with companies that mass produce, they will make the solid wood ukes thicker than laminate because solid woods are more likely to warp and crack. or they will have good solid wood line and then a number of them warp, they get some complaints, and the company will start making them thicker to prevent problems. they should address the woods being exactly quarter sawn or having the factory climate controlled so the woods don't go into shock as they hit the west coast, but it's easier to just make them thicker. So the laminate ones will often have more volume and resonance from having a thinner top. However, almost every day in the store I will see MGM showing ukes and he'll say, "but now here's a Hawaiian uke" strum strum, and the customers say things like.."oh wow" or "boy, they really do sound better". And it is pretty obvious to all which is tonally superior. It is not the fact that it's solid. Though it should be noted that solid instruments "open up" with time and laminates won't. But hey, I end up playing my daughter's $80 Luna Honu more than anything because it's laying on the couch or table and it's fun. But if I was recording or really trying to compose something.....

This is dreadfully misleading thread for any noob luring the forums.

I agree with Duane (& Andrew et al), the generalistic broad strokes taken and stated in this thread are the very ones that support the infamous "Internet expertise" that serves to degenerate focused forums into "rumor is the truth" and results in unknown ridicule of that forum elsewhere.

Jumping off my box, $700 "wall of shame" is nowhere near "high end", and depending on where that pic was taken, I would imagine any high end instruments would not be hanging on the wall next to thosed depicted.

Let's not even go into how much better customs instruments can be "played" compared to rack instruments, if you really want to talk about high end. If you don't know what his means, then you don't have the right custom for you.

Bttl (back to the lounge).

Aaron

When I got my Kiwaya KTS-7 I was pretty underwhelmed at first. It didn't seem to compare to the couple I'd tried before (other people's), and seemed little better my cheap applause (which I still like by the way). I was a bit disheartened - it was a very expensive instrument, and a big investment for me.

Gradually the sound opened up, and it felt like something quite different was emerging. Something bright and sparkly and full of life. The tone on this uke is amazing now. And it's not just wishful thinking - I can still compare it to the Applause and the difference is just astonishing.

The point is that with good solid instruments, the instrument you try in the shop is not the one you end up with after a few weeks of playing. With laminates, what you get is what you get.

Just my opinion.

Last summer, when I visited Ukulele Source in San Jose, I played every uke in the store - laminate and solid. Some of the laminates sounded wonderful, some I put back after the third strum.

But I did the same thing with a couple of the solid Hawaiian-made ukes.

When I picked up the KoAloha Sceptre, a solid Koa Hawaiian-made instrument, I was hooked. Not just the sound - which my wife, sitting across the room immediately noticed - but the feel and resonance of the instrument as I played, both picking and strumming.

I also had a wonderful reaction to a Kamaka Lili'u and one of Rick Turner's Rosewood Compass Rose 5-strings I played at other locations.

The important thing about any instrument or string is to remember how subjective the experience is. This has been pointed out with members of the violin family, guitars, mandolins - pretty much anything. Factor in the skill of the player, and how good the hearing of the listener is, and there is no one answer.

Its like politics, religion, and computers: Declare an absolute, and you will have people declaring you absolutely wrong.

It's amazing how good laminates can sound in relation to solids. With far more models to choose from and cheaper prices they are a great option.

One thing I have noticed over the years of selling and building instruments, people almost always play an instrument that is the same level as their musical abilities, not always but 95 % of the time. You don't see beginners playing high end ukes (unless they have the means). The main reason they don't is because they can't tell the difference. You also don't see pros playing cheap laminate imports no matter how well made, because they can tell the difference. Laminates have their place and if you can't tell the difference its because you can't tell the difference. For most folks who play for fun and will never be professionals, laminates are good enough and I don't mean that in a disparaging way.

we have a lot of customers that aren't gerat players but definitely enjoy a high end uke and can tell the difference. Sometimes it can help them progress musically because the instrument sounds and feels so good that they are more often inspired to play it. but ya, if you can't hear the difference then don't spend the difference. there can't be a serious debate that the best ukes are laminate though. it's just that a lot of solid wood instruments aren't very good. the most crucial factor is the builder. Anyone ever play that pallet guitar at Taylor's factory? Not too far from their others in tone.

Laminated sides (only) are becoming quite the thing on high end instruments, for various legitimate reasons. Solid tops will always reign supreme though.

AndrewKuker said:

often, especially with companies that mass produce, they will make the solid wood ukes thicker than laminate because solid woods are more likely to warp and crack. or they will have good solid wood line and then a number of them warp, they get some complaints, and the company will start making them thicker to prevent problems. they should address the woods being exactly quarter sawn or having the factory climate controlled so the woods don't go into shock as they hit the west coast, but it's easier to just make them thicker. So the laminate ones will often have more volume and resonance from having a thinner top. However, almost every day in the store I will see MGM showing ukes and he'll say, "but now here's a Hawaiian uke" strum strum, and the customers say things like.."oh wow" or "boy, they really do sound better". And it is pretty obvious to all which is tonally superior. It is not the fact that it's solid. Though it should be noted that solid instruments "open up" with time and laminates won't. But hey, I end up playing my daughter's $80 Luna Honu more than anything because it's laying on the couch or table and it's fun. But if I was recording or really trying to compose something.....

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I read what you wrote twice, Andrew. There's a ton of truth in what you wrote, and you'd know with all the ukes flying in and out of HMS. Thanks for explaining this laminate vs solid phenomenon.